A Love Like War
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: [The witch's necklaces has been broken and with that, the spells and curses have been broken, which has brought more trouble to the world. A kingdom lost in time has reappeared. Another prince has been betrothed. Tension grows and jealousy rises, but what else would you expect in a love like war?] The sequel for "To Save What You Love"! R&R? Peddie! Amfie! And of course some Jara!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 of the sequel to _To Save What You Love_! If you haven't read that, I really suggest doing so, or this won't make a lot of sense...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Running a hand over his face in exhaustion, the man opened the door of his small home in the village of the kingdom, Legayn. He entered the first room of the house; a sort of common room attached to a tiny kitchen. He silently peered into the kitchen, his wife immediately coming into view. She was sat at the small table for four, her hands cradling her face as short, heartbreaking sobs shook her shoulders.

He licked his lips and strode up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I know, dear," he whispered into her dirty-blonde hair.

"What did we do to deserve this?" she choked out.

He didn't reply. He simply took her into his arms and reassured her that everything would be right again.

* * *

Amber Millington dragged the brush through her long, blonde locks silently. Normally, she would smile at her reflection, adoring the woman that sat before her, but today, a frown pulled at her perfect pink lips. Her gray eyes followed the brush's slow strokes.

When she was finally happy with her appearance, she stood from the vanity and smoothed out the skirt of her light pink dress. Her eyes darted to the clock on the wall and she took a deep breath, grabbing her white cloak from the hook on the wall. She hurried out of her chambers and floated down the soundless hallway. She pushed through the door leading to the kitchen and inched past all the cooking utensils.

Placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart as if it would calm it, she tiptoed to the small stable house that was located behind the horse stalls. She gently tapped on the wooden door and a few seconds later, it opened.

Alfie Lewis' eyebrows furrowed. "Ambs, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

It was only then that Amber realized she was crying. She just shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her back, a bit confused by the situation.

She pulled back and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You know why I'm leaving," she whispered and leant in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"Amber—" he started as she began to leave, and she turned. "I—I know that it never would have worked out for us, but…"

She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear as tears pricked at the corners of Alfie's brown eyes.

"God, there are so many things I wanted to say." He admitted. He bit his lip, willing himself not to cry. "I love you too."

"Oh, Alfie," she cooed, cupping his cheek and kissing the other. "I want you to be happy. You wouldn't be Alfie without being happy. Do whatever you must do to be happy."

* * *

_Wide, green eyes darted around the throne room. Red and watery, they looked for a sign of life. And then in the doorway to the right, a man stepped into view. He stood tall, like he was in control. His face was kind though. He looked, acted and dressed like a king._

_And Eddie felt small in this man's presence._

"_Can I help you?" he asked kindly. "I understand that you asked for the king, but he is out of town on business at the moment."_

"_You see, sire," Joy curtseyed. She was Eddie's babysitter. "I was babysitting this young boy, but his parents—they've passed away in a boating accident not far from the docks…I don't know where to go." _

_Tears threatened to spill from the eight-year-old's eyes. He looked up at the man shyly. _

"_Peter—" a woman began, but she stopped in the doorway he'd just come from. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know you were busy."_

"_No, dear, I could use your advice." Peter motioned for her to take the spot at his side and she did so. "Clarissa, this young boy is without parents and has no other living relatives. What do you suggest we do?"_

_She kneeled before Eddie and his green eyes met her brown ones. "Oh, you poor thing—Peter,"_

"_Yes?" he responded._

"_Would it be awfully difficult if we adopted him?" she wondered._

_Eddie's eyes flitted between the royals. They were going to adopt him? He was nothing but a poor boy that lived in the village and they wanted him to be part of their family? Why?_

_The important man gazed down at Eddie and a small smile twitched at the corners of his lips. _

* * *

Eddie sat up straight and looked around his bedroom. Everything was in its place, but he wasn't. He had never been in place at the palace. Sure, Jerome made him feel like a brother; Clarissa made him feel like a son; Peter made him feel like a prince, but he never felt like he belonged in the family.

Patricia Williamson. Patricia was the only person that had ever made him feel like he was a part of something.

He leaned back into the pillows on his bed. He hadn't had a dream about that day in a while, but he guessed it was because he had put the pieces together. Peter had granted Clarissa's wishes of taking him in as their son for one reason: to be betrothed. He hadn't realized it before, but he had been set up for this betrothal with Amber Millington. From the very beginning, he was a pawn.

* * *

**Review?**

**Vote the poll if you haven't already! :)**

**The lyrics that inspired the title of this story: _"In the chill of your stare I am painfully lost, like a deer in the lights of an oncoming bus. For the thrill of your touch I will shamefully lust, as you tell me we're nothing but trouble. _****_Heart's on fire tonight; feel my bones ignite, feels like war, war. Feels like war, war. Heart's on fire tonight; feel my bones ignite, feels like war, war. Feels like war, war." _- A Love Like War by All Time Low ft. Vic Fuentes (Pierce The Veil) ****_  
_**

**LOOK THAT MUSIC VID UP KIDDIES! :D**

**-Rachel**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, second chapter! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey, just the Yacker I wanted to talk to." Eddie smiled, stepping up next to Patricia. She was dusting the picture frames and it reminded Eddie of the time he had tickled her until she ran off, leaving her friend to do the rest of the chore. Good times.

"Hey, Cockroach," she greeted, turning to him and resting the feather duster on her shoulders.

"What, you're not going to freak out on me and run off?" he teased.

"Don't know why I should." She shrugged.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you about something. Um," he cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm—"

"Betrothed, I know." She cut him off before going back to her chore.

Eddie stood still for a moment, but then followed her down the hall to the next painting; one of his father. And Eddie felt two feet tall in front of the man that stood high and mighty before him. "How did you know that?"

"Your cousin told me. And he told me to stay away from you." She replied and Eddie frowned.

"I don't like him right now. Don't listen to him; I want you to be around me. He's just trying to protect us."

"From what," Patricia wondered, spinning around to glance at him, her auburn hair almost whipping his face.

"Getting our hearts broken."

* * *

"Mara! Gerbil!" Poppy grinned, hurrying into the castle courtyard.

Jerome helped Mara out of the carriage they had been riding in and she hopped down, wrapping her arms around her sister-in-law.

"Hey, Poops," Jerome smiled hugging her tightly once she and Mara had pulled away.

John and Joan were the next ones to appear and they quickly hugged them.

"How is everyone?" Mara smiled happily, leaning into Jerome's side as he wrapped an arm around her. Her black hair fell over her shoulders in shiny waves and her brown eyes sparkled. Her skin was darker, from spending a month on a tropical island.

"Great," Poppy linked their arms as they started toward the castle's entrance.

"What about Eddie?" Jerome spoke up, raising his eyebrows knowingly.

"I actually haven't seen him very much lately. I assume he's just trying to get use to the idea; have some alone time. That's what you did." John reminded and Jerome nodded.

"I saw him this morning talking to Patricia, the hot tempered maid." Poppy told them, running a hand sideways through her dirty-blonde bangs, but they just flopped back down over her blue-green eyes.

"Why on earth would he be speaking with Patricia?" Joan wondered.

"She treats him like a normal person, and he likes that." Jerome answered easily. He didn't want to tell his parents that Eddie was in love with this maid when he was betrothed. He wasn't sure what they would do, but his uncle would end up finding out. And he wasn't sure what he would do.

* * *

"Eddie," Clarissa smiled loving, taking his hand and strolling with him down the hallway. "Are you alright, love?"

Eddie smiled to himself. At least his mother still cared. But did she know about the betrothal? "Clarissa, did you know that I'm betrothed."

She stiffened when he used her first name. He had never called her that; it had always been 'mom'. Why now? She licked her lips and looked down sadly. "I'm sorry I never told you."

Eddie let go of her hand in his anger and distanced himself, almost running into the wall to his right as they turned a corner into another hallway. Clarissa's expression fell and her stomach twisted painfully. She anxiously wrung her hands together.

"I couldn't stop your father and your uncle from making this decision." She explained.

"Was it planned the moment after I was adopted? Or did they already have this in mind, and they just needed an heir. So they thought that I'd be perfect material because I didn't know anything about being a prince?" he snapped.

Her silence confirmed his suspicions and he gritted his teeth. He pulled his orange cloak off and threw it onto a chair as they walked through the sitting room.

"Your father and I love you, Eddie." Clarissa promised, tears in her voice, reaching for his arm, but he stormed out of the castle without another word.

* * *

"Jerry," Eddie barked, pushing the throne room doors open so hard they smacked against the walls behind them.

"Eddie, calm down," John laughed.

"Hey, Edison, how are you?" Jerome grinned, clasping his hands behind his back and bouncing on his heels once. "How's the fiancé?"

"Hallway, now." He ordered, grabbing his collar and pulling him back into the hallway, pulling the doors shut.

"My goodness, what?" Jerome sighed, smoothing out his shirt.

"You told Patricia to back off." he said bluntly.

"Oh, you know about that?" he hissed sarcastically.

Eddie frowned. "Mate, would you stay out of it?"

"No. I'm going to do what you did for me and make sure you two don't get your hearts broken. I don't care what you say."

"When I did that for you and Mara, you and Mara had been the ones betrothed. This time, it doesn't count. You're going to let me do this. You are going to cover for me and Patricia; I'm going to help her fall in love with me. I'm going to find a way to marry her."

"Eddie, a secret affair isn't going to work; the princess will be here, and she'll be one your arm the whole time. You'll never be with Patricia."

"I've got to try – please, Jerry," he pleaded, grabbing his cousin's shoulder.

* * *

**Okay, I've got next week off school, so I'll be updating stuff more often! **

**Also, I realized that when y'all throw out random suggestions for my stories, I might not use one or all of them, but they do give me ideas and I write things faster. So if you ever have any ideas for my stories, do not hesitate to slap me in the face with them! :)**

_**"In the end, as we fade into the night. (oh whoa oh oh) Who will tell the story of your life? (oh whoa oh oh) And who will remember your last goodbye? (oh whoa oh oh) 'Cause it's the end and I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid to die."**_

**-Rachel**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I should be working on something but...I was just forced to play Gin with my mom and my brother and I don't know how to play it, so my brother taught me, but he didn't say that a run had to be in the same suit, so I ended up _not _winning, and my mom backed him up and said that he did say that. But he didn't! I would have done something completely different if I knew that! So I stopped playing and stormed over to my computer and then cried in the bathroom because...I was so proud of myself for winning, but then I didn't, so I was knocked down when I was happy. :( And I'm trying to write, but it's hard for me to write when I'm upset. And I don't want to play a game with them because they won't stop saying that I did a great job because _I didn't. _If I had done a great job, I would've won! And my mom doesn't know when to quit asking someone if they're okay. I just want to slap my brother and strangle my mom- they're being so annoying and they just don't understand how they're making me feel right now. I feel like such a failure.**

**Anyway...sorry.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"You want me and Jerome to cover for you and Patricia while you two have a secret affair and you try to get out of your betrothal?" Mara relayed. "But…"

"Come on, Mara, I did it for you two." Eddie pleaded.

"But I knew that Jerome and I were getting married. Technically, Jerome and I weren't having a secret affair, but a relationship—"

"No one cares about technicalities, Mara," he groaned.

Jerome sighed, running a hand over his chin. "Okay, look, we have to figure out how Amber is as a person, and then decide if you'll ever be able to be away from her."

Eddie hung his head in frustration. "But you'll help me if you can?"

Jerome and Mara looked at each other before nodding.

The door to the library opened and thy looked at the servant that had entered. He bowed lowly. "King Andrew Millington and Princess Amber Millington from Votram have just arrived. Lord Peter requests your presence, Prince Eddie."

Eddie nodded and stood, and Jerome and Mara rose with him.

"We'll come with you; for support." Mara smiled, hugging him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, following the servant to the throne room.

In the middle of the room, before the king and queen and Lord and Lady, stood an older man and a younger woman; the man had piercing gray eyes and graying temples. He was shorter than most men, but he was taller than his daughter who had the same gray eyes with long, golden locks that flowed down her back like a waterfall.

"Eddie," Peter acknowledged. He motioned for him to stand next to him and his wife. He smiled at the guests. "This is our son, Eddie."

Eddie bowed stiffly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness."

"His accent isn't the same as yours." The king of Votram noted.

"He was adopted, sire," Clarissa explained, brushing her finger over Eddie's cheek. "But we love him as our own."

Eddie forced himself not to scoff. He didn't believe anything either of his 'parents' said. Oh, this was such a mess.

"Andrew, why don't we let Eddie and Amber get to know each other. Eddie, take the princess to the garden; go on a walk." Peter instructed.

"Yes, sir," Eddie nodded and held his arm out for the princess to take. She took it easily and lifted her light blue skirt, walking with him through the door.

"This garden is so pretty," Amber commented. "But the humid air isn't very good for my hair. Could we go somewhere else?"

"Of course," Eddie strained through gritted teeth.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" she asked, pulling her arm away from his. She sat down on one of the benches and patted the spot next to her, but he remained standing.

"I'm sorry, is it that obvious?" he retorted.

"Yes," she giggled. "So who is she? Is she pretty? Is she smart? Is she funny? Is she worth it?"

"What?" His dark eyebrows fell together in confusion.

"The girl you're in love with. She's the reason you don't want to be near me, right? I'm right. I'm always right about these things. I can see it in your eyes. Those are the eyes of a man in love." Amber stated confidently, reaching out and pulling on his hand so he'd sit next to her.

"Is it that obvious?" he chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"Maybe not to everyone else, but to me, absolutely; I'm a hopeless romantic. She must be some special girl if she's caught you attention. What is she? A princess; a lady; a queen?"

Eddie smiled slightly. "A maid."

Amber's head cocked to the side. "A made what?"

"No, she's a maid. She works here in the palace." he shrugged. "And don't say that I can't be with her."

"No, I get it. I can sort of relate." She admitted. She leaned closer to him. "I'm in love with a stable boy."

"A stable boy?" he chuckled.

She nodded. "I've been dating him for three months. Well, I _dated _him for three months; I had to leave so I could marry you."

"I'm trying to find a way out of this. I think we can find a way so that we don't have to get married and if we're lucky, we can be with who we want. But we have to play this right. My cousin and his wife will help us out with anything we need."

"So how do we convince our parents to break the betrothal? Your father seems to be just as stubborn as mine. No offence."

"None taken," he waved the comment off and stood up, holding his arm out to her. "We'll discuss it later. Right now, let's just get back and try to convince them that we had a good time."

She nodded in understanding and linked their arms.

* * *

Amber slipped out of the guest bedroom and looked down both sides of the hallway. She tapped a finger to her chin. Eddie had said to meet him in the library. That was to the right, down the hallway to the stairs to the first floor, down the hallway and through the first door on the left, which led to one more hallway where the library was the third door on the right. Right?

She followed that path and found that her memory had been correct. She looked around the room, observing the many bookcases and then noticed that on the balcony above sat Eddie, Jerome and Mara. She pulled her dressing gown tighter around her and silently climbed the spiral staircase.

When she reached the three, Mara smiled at her and patted the spot next to her. She sat where she'd been welcomed and Mara spoke first.

"Hi, I'm Mara," she said softly.

"Amber," she replied with a smile of her own.

Mara's arm jerked back and her elbow hit Jerome's arm. He straightened, eyes widening. "Sorry, I'm awake. Hi, Jerome Clarke; Mara's husband," he held his hand out and they shook hands briefly. "Take care of my cousin."

"Jerry, we're not getting married." Eddie snapped quietly.

"Wait what? Did I miss something? I'm sorry, I'm not a morning person." He mumbled leaning against the bookshelf again, eyes fluttering closed.

"Are you kidding me? Every morning, before dawn, you and Mara go up to the – what were you two doing before I got you?" he asked suspiciously.

Jerome opened one eye and a smirk pulled at the corner of his slightly swollen lips. "Do you really want to know?"

Eddie's eyes narrowed and he turned back to Amber without another word, which caused Jerome to let out a small chuckle and pull Mara into his side.

"So they're gonna help us out." he replied. "Although with my cousin's brain, I'm not sure how…"

"Hey," Jerome protested.

Eddie ignored him and spoke again, "So, Amber and I are going to 'get to know each other', but really, it's just gonna be a cover so that I can see Patricia. But see, I'm not alone on this; Amber is seeing this stable boy back in Votram. So really, breaking this betrothal will be going both ways."

"Okay, so you guys want us to cover for you two whenever we need to and keep an eye, ear and nose out for a way to break the betrothal?" Jerome questioned.

"Yeah, basically – wait, why a nose? Who keeps a nose out?" Eddie made a face.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you'll be keeping a nose out."

"I'm sorry; I'm really tired." Jerome rubbed his eyes and Mara laughed softly.

"Alright, go to sleep already," Eddie waved him off with a small smile. "Thanks, guys."

"Anytime," Jerome promised, standing up and then helping Mara. "You helped us; we'll do the same for you."

"Goodnight," Mara said.

"Sweet dreams," Amber responded kindly as they walked toward the spiral staircase.

"They'll have our backs." Eddie assured her. "They're some of the most loyal people you'll ever meet."

"Good," she smiled and then looked at her lap unsurely. "I hope this works."

"It will."

* * *

**Review?**

**Vote the poll!**

**"She said, '****paint a picture on me'; throw your dress up and your heart away. Yeah, I heard what you said. A friend of a friend, these strangers at the party never paid. And if that doesn't turn you on, I'll keep talking till something does. As we're covered in sand, you roll over and smile."**

**-Rachel**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Update!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Alfie wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and leaned back on the wall of the stall he stood in. The brown horse whinnied, nudging his arm and the dark-skinned boy laughed, stroking the animal's nose. "You understand, don't you?"

The horse snorted in response and Alfie patted his back before stepping out of the stall and locking the door behind him. He slowly made his way down the long hallway of stalls; every other cubicle had a horse while others were empty.

At the end of the stables, a young girl about his age stood, peeking in at one of the horses. Princess Amber's horse; the majestic white steed she called Rosebud. She giggled and then continued to talk to the stallion.

"Is she beautiful when she rides you? No, of course she is; she's always beautiful." she scoffed at herself, brushing a strawberry blonde curl out of her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Alfie spoke up, coming closer to the woman.

Her head snapped around to look at him and her forehead connected with a beam that held a pail of food for Rosebud. She hissed in pain.

"Are you okay?" he asked hurriedly, rushing up to her, holding her elbow as she stumbled backwards in shock. She rubbed her forehead and nodded.

"Yeah, it just surprised me." she giggled, closing her green eyes as she bent over, laughing.

"Yeah," he chuckled, helping her stand up straight and then took a step back. "Can I ask what you were doing talking to Rosebud?"

"That's her name? What a beautiful name. Only Princess Amber could name a horse so brilliantly." She sighed dreamily, looking back at the horse again.

"Yeah…" Alfie's brown eyes narrowed at her. "Who are you?"

"Willow Jenks; maid, part-time wiccan, full-time biggest Princess Amber Millington fan!" she bounced happily. "She's just so perfect – she just makes me want to...SQUEE!"

Alfie blinked.

"So who are you?" she smiled.

"Alfie Lewis, stable boy." He responded and she nodded, shaking his hand, her happy grin never leaving her pale face.

* * *

Patricia gasped, suddenly finding herself in a dark closet. She had been pulled in by her elbow and didn't know who it was with her in the blackness. But then she realized it was Eddie. Who else would drag her into a small room to be alone? Only Eddie.

"What do you want, Slimeball? I've got work to do." She stated, planting her fists on her hips.

"You would rather do chores than be with me?" he asked, fake hurt lacing his voice as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest.

"I'd rather do chores than have your nasty breath in my face. Would you stop eating sandwiches for a while?" she scoffed, hand finding his cheek and she pushed his face away from her.

"God, Yacker, you make it really hard to be romantic." He groaned, releasing her shoulders.

"Then stop trying so hard. I'm not one for romantic gestures anyway."

"That's because no one has ever done anything romantic for you yet." He retorted.

"I'm just waiting for the right guy to do those things for me." she whimpered teasingly.

"Oh really?" his smirk was obvious in his voice.

"Yeah, I don't have any idea where he is though." She shrugged even though he couldn't see her and slipped out of the closet easily.

As the door clicked shut behind her, Eddie frowned, letting his shoulders sag in defeat. Patricia was just hard to work with sometimes.

* * *

Amber smiled at her father, sitting down next to him in the sitting room, smoothing out her peach colored dress. Her hair was slightly curly and pulled back, half up-half down. She waited a moment for him to put his book down and Andrew turned to his daughter expectantly.

"Eddie's very nice, daddy; I think you picked the right prince." She said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

A smile tugged and Andrew's lips. She was happy. He had tried so hard to make her happy after her mother had died. When the queen passed away due to a cold last winter, the whole kingdom mourned with the family. And she had meant everything to Amber. It had really killed him to betrothed her; he hadn't wanted to upset her, but it seemed that despite her original feelings on the situation, she was happy. He laid a hand on hers and placed a kiss on her temple. "I only want the best for you, dear."

"I know." She whispered. A thin veil of sadness wrapped around her as she left the room. If he really wanted the best for her, he wouldn't have angrily forbidden her to see Alfie when he had seen them walking through the garden. Alfie had almost gotten fired, but Amber managed to persuade her father not to. But they had to see each other secretly and at night from then on.

"Oh, hello, Princess Amber," Poppy smiled and curtsied.

"Oh, um, Jerome's sister, Poppy, right?" she giggled, clasping her hands together excitedly. "It's a pleasure to meet you! You're so pretty! No, beautiful! Like a totally natural beauty. Wow. Mara is so lucky to have a sister-in-law like you! We can be best friends!"

Poppy laughed. "Okay,"

"Fantastic! Call me Amber; I'll call you Poppy, and we're on our way into a beautiful friendship." She gasped, leaning into her face, staring into her eyes. Poppy's blue-green eyes widened in surprise and she took a step back to distance herself from the other princess. "Oh my gosh, that's so cute – you have a crush on someone!"

"What? I do not!" she defended herself and Amber scoffed, waving her protest away.

"That is such a lie – I can sense these things. You like someone. Who is he? What's his name? Is he cute? Is he sweet? Is he worth it?"

"Um," Poppy swallowed. "I don't know his name."

"Huh?" Amber cocked her head in confusion.

"I danced with him at my Jerome and Mara's engagement celebration ball but I didn't get his name – he ran off before I could ask."

"Aw, it's like a fairytale! Only backwards…" she shrugged and linked their arms. "I want details."

* * *

**Review?**

**Are all of you ready for this year's 12 Days of Christmas? It's gonna be fun! :D**

**_"I'm the lord of the wastelands; a modern day man of steel. I gather darkness to please thee and I command you to kneel before the god of thunder and rock and roll. The spell you're under will slowly rob you of your virgin soul."_**

**...okay then... Well, you gotta love _KISS_.**

**-Rachel**


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Eddie awoke with a start, breathing heavily. He didn't know if he could take much more of this. A nightmare every night. He leaned back into his pillows, unable to go back to sleep. It was nearly dawn. He had only gotten an hour or two of sleep at least. But he thought back to the dream he had.

He could have sworn it wasn't a nightmare. He would never tell someone this, but it seemed more like a memory than a nightmare; something that was reminding him of what had happened before he was a prince, before he had been brought into the family.

"Hey, mate, you alright?" Jerome asked, walking into the room.

Eddie let out a slow sigh. "Um, Jerry, do you know anything about my family? My _real_ family?"

Jerome nearly winced at the emphasis that he wasn't his real family. "No, not really. I remember my dad getting some information from a baker. He said that your parents and your sister died in a boating accident. It was like, her turn to go out on their boat or something like that. I don't know—" he froze when Eddie was suddenly standing in front of him, holding his shoulders tightly.

"Sister?"

"You don't remember a lot about your family, do you?" Jerome shook his head in amazement.

"I don't remember anything about them. I keep dreaming about the day they died and I was brought here, but…" he walked away from him, pushing the window open so he could breathe in the calming ocean breeze.

"A doctor once said that you had blocked everything out because you were so upset about it. You just blacked out your life before."

"So, I had a sister?"

"Yeah, she was a year younger than you or something…I can't remember." He shrugged. "You could ask my dad, I bet he remembers."

"Thanks," he mumbled and hurriedly changed into a white tunic, pulling an orange cloak over his shoulders as he left the room.

* * *

"Hey, J, how's it going?" Mara greeted, hopping up next to him and entwining their fingers.

"I'm fine, just a little confused. Eddie is suddenly really curious about his family. He's asking all these questions and he's going to go talk to my dad about things." He turned to her. "Do you think he's trying to find out more about his family so he can get out of the marriage?"

Mara shook her head. "He wouldn't do that. He knows that he has a duty as a prince."

"But why did our parents want us to get married? Why do Eddie and Amber _have_ to get married?"

"I don't know." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "But I know it's weird and you don't really believe me. But I still feel like _something's_ not right."

"What do you think that something could be?"

"I have no idea, but it's going to affect us and life as we know it."

"Mysterious."

"But serious." She corrected, pointing a finger at him. Any humor that had been in the hallway immediately vanished and Jerome realized that she was completely serious.

"I believe you." he said sincerely.

* * *

Alfie cautiously made his way toward Willow. She was sitting on a bale of hay, her eyes closed. She seemed to be talking, but whom she was talking to, he didn't know. He didn't see anyone. When he got closer, he could hear what she was saying.

"Wow, the balance of the universe is way off. What do you think it could be that's out of place? Is something living; is something dead; are the seasons changing at the wrong time? What could it be?" she moaned dramatically and her eyes shot open, immediately landing on Alfie. "Hi, Alfie, how are you?"

"Fine," he chuckled unsurely.

"Did you know that the universal balance has tipped? It's awful! I think it's tipped toward the evil side of the universe."

"Wait, what?" he jumped forward and grabbed her shoulders, suddenly very interested in whatever she was talking about.

"See, the universe has two sides; the good side and the evil side. The universe is constantly in balance so that nothing goes wrong, but sometimes the balance does tip too much to the good or evil sides. Lately, it's been tipping more to the evil side. But I'm sure it's nothing; I would know if some great evil has been awakened or something – I am a Wiccan after all."

* * *

"Uncle," Eddie acknowledged as John was walking down the hallway.

He dipped his head in greeting and let his nephew continue speaking.

"I need to know anything that you can remember about my family, me at a young age, the day that I was brought here – anything. Please, sir?"

"Why?" John wondered, pushing the door of his study open and beckoning him into the room.

"I'm a little curious, that's all." he shrugged. "I've just been having this reoccurring dream of the day that I was brought here. It just got me thinking and I wanted to know a little more about them, if it's possible."

"Yes, it's possible," John replied with a smile. "But I'm afraid Peter and Clarissa would have my head if I let you see those records though. They want to keep up a sense of normalcy, so that you'd always feel as if you're really at home, even though you were from the village."

"But that's the thing, I never feel like I'm at home here." Eddie mumbled guiltily.

"I know that, Eddie," he laid a hand on his shoulder. "I haven't looked at the records for all the families under M in a while. It's probably not even on the shelf anymore."

There was a knock at the door and John led Eddie out. A butler stood there, waiting for his permission to speak and John nodded, winking at the prince quickly as he followed the man down the hall.

Eddie shook his head; his uncle was awesome. He pushed the door open until he could poke his head in and look around. Silence. He slid in carefully and shut the door behind him, rushing to the bookshelf that had records of families in Legayn. He searched for the log that would include his family, but the book was missing from its place. John was right. So if it wasn't there, where would it be? He turned to the desk and check under papers and other books, but nothing.

He was about to continue his search by the window, but he heard someone beyond the door. The knob jiggled as someone turned it and he dashed for the closet behind the desk. He closed the door and shrunk back into the darkness. He would never be able to explain why he was in there, especially after he heard the first visitor's voice.

"John, there's a reason why we do everything; we're too much like our father." Peter grumbled.

"Except I'm usually the one that's being nice; you're the schemer." Came John's reply.

"When are the other heirs arriving?"

Eddie's eyebrows furrowed. He felt the back of his head hit a shelf and he froze, taking a tiny step forward. He continued listening to their conversation as he reached up and took the book form the shelf; an extravagant M painted on the cover of the thick green book. He chuckled silently and tucked the book under his arm safely before inching closer to the door, cracking it open so he could see his uncle and his father.

"They'll be here in time for Eddie and Amber's wedding." John answered.

Eddie winced at the word wedding.

"Do you really believe this is going to work?" he sighed deeply, sorting some of the papers on his desk. "We could have sign peace treaties instead of betrothing all our children."

"You didn't betroth Poppy. You would never do that. But it surprises me that you had done that to Jerome." Peter smirked.

Eddie's concentrated on his father. What was that supposed to mean?

John apparently knew; he stood up abruptly from his chair and turned to his brother sharply. "Do not judge me for betrothing my son when you've done the same thing. Joan and I hated to do that to him, but at least it worked out. You and I both know that it'll never work out for Eddie and Amber; they'll never be happy."

"That's not the reason we're doing this—" Peter reminded.

"We're doing this to keep the people happy, safe, and peaceful. You can't do that if the heirs don't get along."

"You can't do it if you have no army."

Eddie stepped away from the door once he saw Peter and John practically nose to nose. They fell silent after that and soon they left the room separately. Eddie snuck out of the room, the log book under his arm as he rushed to his bedroom.

* * *

**Review?**

**How's school going for you guys so far? **

**I've been having major issues with writing. I'm a horrible writer...I've come to grips with that. I need a lot of teaching and practicing to be good. **

_**"Don't you try to hide with those angel eyes (If you let me inside, I won't hold back this time). Such a deep disguise; the devil's right inside (More than paralyzed. Oh, it's the chase you like)."**_

**Anyone know that song? :)**

**-Rachel**


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